Jacksonville-area coronavirus updates: Department of Environmental Protection closes Florida state parks

More than 311,988 people worldwide -- including nearly 26,747 people in the United States -- have been infected with the new coronavirus, and the number of deaths from the outbreak continues to rise. Officials are attempting to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia as schools, businesses and public events are closed or canceled.

Action News Jax has the very latest information on Florida cases of the coronavirus LIVE on FOX30 and CBS47. Click here to watch.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection announces Florida state parks closed to the public

March 22, 10:20 p.m.: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced it is closing all Florida state parks to the public starting Monday.

In a statement the DEP said: "At the direction of Governor DeSantis and to successfully uphold CDC guidance to maximize social distancing and avoid gatherings larger than 10 people, DEP will close all Florida State Parks to the public effective Monday, March 23.

“DEP has taken many measures to continue providing resource recreation at our state parks during this time, such as limiting operating hours and reducing visitor capacity at parks with high visitation. Unfortunately, this has not resulted in the reductions needed to best protect public health and safety as Florida continues to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”

St. Johns County closing public parking lots at beaches

March 22, 7 p.m.: St. Johns County is closing the public beach parking lots.

Mayor to give virtual news conferences

March 22, 5:30 p.m.: Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry announced he will be giving his news conferences virtually starting tomorrow.

Governor Ron DeSantis gives update from Miami

March 22, 12 p.m.: During a press conference in Miami, Governor Ron DeSantis said as testing increases, Florida has seen more overall cases. However, he added that the vast majority of people are testing negative.

DeSantis also shared that there are still about 2,500 people in Florida needing to be tested right now.

Duval County has 37 positive COVID-19 cases

March 22, 11 a.m.: After learning that Duval County has 37 positive cases of COVID-19, Mayor Lenny Curry urged community members to continue doing their part.

Columbia County sees first positive COVID-19 case

March 22, 11 a.m.: A 46-year-old woman has tested positive for coronavirus in Columbia County, according to the Florida Department of Health.

Nassau County beaches closed

March 22, 6:00 a.m.: Nassau County beaches have closed. This comes after the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office announced the impending closure in a Facebook post Saturday. The executive order from Nassau County Emergency Management said, “The increased pedestrian traffic, due to other beach closures, presents an enforcement issue as to gatherings and other CDC, Gubernatorial and Presidential guidelines.”

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